A Conversation about music discovery

Episode Notes

Huw joined BBC Radio 1 at 17, becoming the youngest ever Radio 1 DJ. He has broadcast live from Glastonbury, Reading Festival, Sonar, South by Southwest, Eurosonic on BBC Radio 1, as well as live from Radio 1’s own Teen Awards and Big Weekend. His passion for new music has meant he has been the first to champion countless new artists early on. He has contributed to BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 4, 6Music and presented on BBC Radio Wales, and presents regularly on the BBC World Service. Huw talks about music discovery, which means sometimes being one of the only people in a club watching that new band play live for the first time. Also, the importance of musicians developing a supportive community, and how singing in Welsh can work for you.

“…I ended up in the UK, where we had hospitals that have radio stations in them.

It was a big thing for DJs to get practice. If you’re a geek about radio, hospital radio was the place to start. It is still brilliant and doing great things. They play artists and they take requests from the patients. It’s a real community. So that’s how I started and then I managed bands…

I would write reviews for local fanzines and I would do the usual review songs on the radio, I’d answer phones for the local BBC radio station and all of that. I met a BBC producer called Bethan Elfyn. I was 17 and she knew that the BBC funded Radio One station was looking to set up a new show, called The Nations, specifically for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland…”

@huwStephens

@BBC Radio

2:20 Focus Wales

3:27 Andy Jones

5:07 Ryan Reynolds

5:44 Cat Morris, Clwb Ifor Bach

7:46 Poptones Records

8:21 Hospital Radio

10:44 Zane Lowe,

12:30 BBC Radio Wales

15:05 Annie Mac

18:09 Upload your Music Here